TEAM 2 REFLECT ON THE TRIP AT THEIR LAST

MEETING AND PACKING EVENING

Jill: I am very excited and looking forward to it. I am looking forward to working with the children. I am worried that I might not be fit enough. I am looking forward to interacting with children. It is difficult to imagine the church service in Mandoor. It will be interesting to compare he service with Fleet Methodist Church. I am looking forward to meeting church families. I think people in our team are very supportive.

Heather: I’m looking forward to it in a reserved sort of way. I hope I will be of use. I don’t worry about things. I am looking forward to seeing the children. I have enjoyed the planning meetings. I have enjoyed raising the funds. I have enjoyed every aspect of the trip so far.

Nathalie: I can’t believe the Sri Lanka trip is almost here, I’m so excited!!! I can’t wait to meet all the children and teachers that we’ve heard so much about and in particular I’m looking forward to making the bear collage and reading the book with the children and seeing their faces! I’ve met so many really lovely people in the planning meetings already and can’t wait to meet some more during the trip! Thank you for letting me be part of this amazing work!

Amali: It’s great to be gearing up for another Ocean Stars October trip to Sri Lanka. The team has worked really hard preparing all the lessons and collecting all the resources to take, so now I feel ready to get going! I’m looking forward to seeing all of the pre-school teachers and children and to be sharing the visit with a few good friends this year too!

Sophie: After regularly donating to help the brilliant work of Ocean Stars Trust, I am very excited to finally be travelling to Sri Lanka next week for the first time. Quite a few months of planning have almost come to an end, and I have enjoyed raising money for our trip with a successful car boot sale and a (very tasty) cake sale with the help of my mum and work colleagues. But as well as excitement at the prospect of finally seeing in person the results of 10 amazing years of the work by Ocean Stars Trust, and spending time with the wonderful team, I am also quietly apprehensive. I’m wondering; will the children warm to me, will they enjoy the activities we have in store for them, but most of all will the Ocean Stars school teachers love the Cha Cha Cha as much as I do!!  …..They will be taking part in a dance workshop with me as part of their teacher training if you were wondering!

Anyway, with less than one week to go, most of all I feel privileged to be involved in this year’s trip and cannot wait to try and make just a little difference to the lives of the children living along the East cost of Sril Lanka.

Natalia. How time flies! It seems like yesterday that Sofia and I were thinking to join the team to go to Sri-Lanka. We are even going to do some turism, seeing even some temples and elephant orphanage We are sooo very excited. I can wait to meet my sponsored children. I have seen them grow through photographs and now I am finally going to meet them and their families. I am also very happy to go to the playgroup in Trincomalee. I will bring loads of photos from there to show them to the little ones at my nursery, Buttercups. Sofia and I are counting the days.

Mike: Looking forward to what will be a very different experience.  While Sri Lanka is renowned holiday resort, this trip will give me an experience of the people and culture that no package holiday can give.

Visiting and working in a school will be another first for me, which while I am looking forward to it, does give me some trepidation.

The preparation have been very entertaining, thanks to the great team I am in.